Canine Autoimmune Hemolytic Anemia (AIHA & IMHA) - Jack's Gone

Hi all, after only 2 months since diagnosis I had jack put to sleep today. He couldn't even get up this morning let alone eat his breakfast. The lead for his walk was no incentive either and I had to carry him to the car. They tried the maximum steroids on him and it did put his count up but had so many side effects, liver, muscle wastage etc that, he was on a downward hill from the start. The steroids were the only things keeping him well but they were killing him at then same time. Jack had the most progressive form of AIHA so please do not lose hope if you are reading this, but please bear in mind that the best thing you can do for your dog is have it put to sleep if it's quality of life is nil. It is part of being a responsible dog owner. Saying that his last moments I will remember for the rest of my days and god does it hurt.

Sam Exeter

Sam, I am so sorry that you had to let Jack go. We went through the same sort of thing when we had to make that awful choice with our dog. Being a responsible parent does not make the decision any easier. I hope in the coming days memories of better happier times with Jack will embrace you and the awfulness of these past few months will fade. Penny

Penny Lytle Creek Calif

Sam, Words cannot tell you how sorry we both are top hear the loss of Jack. We too lost our beloved little Daisy last Sunday to the horrific disease. We can imagine what you are going through at this moment in time and our thoughts are with you. Please take care. Sending you our love, hugs and kisses. Claire & Jason xx

Claire & Jason Stebbens West Yorkshire (UK)

I am so sorry to hear of Sam's passsing. You did the most loving thing a person can for a suffering being. I hope eventually only happy memories remain.

Courtney SLO

Sam and family, You are not alone. I hope there is some sort of comfort in that. Sometimes the disease surges and there isn't a lot of warning. Try to put yourself back to this summer when a healthy Jack was wagging to go walkies. It's hard. I know you did all you could. Our situation was similar but at the 10 week mark with Kitzel. Take care ~ Jack was well loved and is out of the misery of his body now.

Cynthia Grosse Pte.

I agree fully with you. My Scruffy had that form of this disease severe worsening non regenerative anemia. The saddest thing that remains with me was when he sat in his basket too weak to join his mate Seff and sadly watching as I walked down the yard unable to follow. The helplessness in being unable to make him better really hurts. Quality of life definitely comes into it. The decision to put Scruffy to sleep was the hardest thing I have ever done.

Julie Australia

Dear Sam -- I'm sorry you had to make the horrible decision to put your dear Jack to sleep, but you are right that, at a certain point, you have to ask if it's right to keep the dog alive given the deterioration and the inability to make progress against the disease. After a week, we had to make the decision to let our Wiley go, and like others said, it was the hardest decision we ever made. But we know it was the right thing to do for her, since she'd had a stroke midway through her fight and never walked again. But I am glad that we were with her at the end to tell her how much we loved her and how much she meant to our lives. We had a wonderful ten years together, and those last moments have helped with our grief. Please take care and let us know how you are doing. I hope your memories of your life with Jack help you through your grief. Also think about how you gave him a wonderful, loving home, and you helped him to fight IMHA until it was clear he couldn't win. He couldn't have asked for a better dog parent.

Brenda VA

Sam, I am sorry to hear of your loss of Jack. The illness is very difficult to deal with. I also had to put my cocker spaniel down as a result of complications from all the medications he was on. It is heart-breaking and painful to say the least. Know of my thoughts and prayers, Ann Marie

Ann Marie FL

Jack, my deepest sympathy to you as you grieve for the loss of your best friend Sam. I hope you can get some comfort, knowing you made ALL the best choices for him and knew when to let go.......the ultimate love gift. Sam is with all our friends on the Rainbow Bridge, free of all the meds and testing, knowing how much you love him. He is free to run again and wait for that special day when you will be reunited on the Bridge. Prayers and Blessings sharon and angel Brandy

sharon pa

I just wanted to say thank you to all of you who have left me lovely messages. Timmy, Jack's brother has spent the last day hunting round the garden to see where his brother is. It has been a very difficult time for me but your lovely comments have really helped. thankyou Sam

sam young exeter

Sam, I am so sorry to hear that Jack lost his battle with IMHA. It sounds as though your experience with the disease was very similar to mine with my dog Sunny. My boy lived for exactly two months after the diagnosis, but the very drugs that kept him alive initially, were killing him slowly. He eventually could not even walk and I had to have him put to sleep. Find comfort in the knowledge that you did everything you could and that sometimes no matter how hard we try, things are out of our control. Please know from my experience that the sadness gets better with time. I eventually adopted a dog and I am feeling much better and life does go on. I am currently putting together a book of photos to remember my dear Sunny. My condolences to you as you grieve for Jack. Leslie

Leslie Oceanside

Dear Sam, so sorry to hear of your loss of Jack. I know exactly what you mean, my dog Ellie could not understand where her companion Holly had gone to and I would have given anything just to be able to explain to her what had happened. After her initial looking around the house for Holly she took to hiding under the dining room table, only coming out for her walks and to eat. We now have an adorable little puppy called Saffy who has done wonders for Ellie. It is the hardest of times as you feel so helpless that they cannot tell us there is something wrong or that they are hurting. As Leslie says life does go on but you don't forget. Take care Keri xx

Keri Lynn Wales

Our sympathies to you on Jack's passing. This is such a horrible disease.

leslie ca

This thread was discussed between 12/11/2008 and 13/11/2008

Canine Autoimmune Hemolytic Anemia (AIHA & IMHA) forum index

This thread is from the Vetnet archive. The live Vetnet forum is active now.